Aki suddenly feels a burning sensation in the middle of the night. The moment he moved, he felt he was laying somewhere hard. He opens his eyes in confusion.
The vast dark blue sky.
He sees the sky with pretty fireflies in orange-red color. Like fire. Looking to the side, he finds himself in the middle of the desart.
How he came here, he kept thinking while staying lying in the way he was. Soon he will wake up. He tells himself that he will wake up in a bit.
But waiting seemed irritating as he started to feel the heat from the ground.
Nighttime but he can still see everything clearly.
Those fireflies are moving steadily. One of them starts going up with losing its red color to turn clear blue then slowly starts to lose that blue color as well and turns to white. Then it flew up in the sky and settled there as a star. A few of them began to change as well in white. Then went up in the sky. Suddenly one star fell down somewhere in his sight.
He got curious and got up as well and began to walk in that direction where he thinks the star has fallen. He never saw any fallen stars. What would it look like?
He starts to hear some screaming from those fireflies that were near him. Every one of those fireflies was making sounds. He pushes them away. When he was almost close to that fallen star, he saw someone.
Someone like a kid. A kid who seems to be five years old or like that. But unfortunately, it wasn't clear enough. He could only see his blurred figure. Those fireflies started blocking Aki. So he started to move them forcefully. Suddenly they started coming in, surrounding him like bees. Like he has invaded their nest. They began screaming instead of biting him. Aki tried to run but could not. The burning hot feeling inside his skin starts to flare up again. The boy was so close to his sight but wasn't helping him nor ran away. Soon Aki's head started to explode with pain. He covers his ears and bends down on his knees.
Red eyes. Aki opens his eyes from his exhausting nightmare. The eyes slowly turn back to their normal color. He shoves his blanket away and puts his feet on the ground. Ginger was there on the floor.
'Why are you here?' He went to wash his face but saw he was sweating a lot from head to toe.
'Achoo!' The cold didn't favor Aki.
'Bless you!' Noah hands over a coffee while asking, 'When did you get the cold?'
'I guess last night. I keep having these nightmares, I don't feel good about them.'
'Is it about the accident?' Noah asked with a concerned face.
After thinking for a while Aki reacts, 'No...no..not those. I don't even feel guilty about that.'
'Are you sure? It is possible to...even though you wanted him dead maybe somewhere in the heart you feel guilty.' Noah looking at Aki carefully waits for the answer.
'I…' Noah stares at Aki, seeing him pause.
'...it's like I want to remember something....someone wants me to remember something.' Aki tried to avoid Noah's eyes while taking a sip from the cup.
'Ohh!' Noah seemed worried.
Back when they were in University, an accident occurred. They were returning home late at night. They got off the train, then they were about to get off the platform. A drunken middle-aged man was screaming and laughing. Then the man started walking on the railway track. Aki and Noah were the only ones there on the platform. Noah tried to get that drunken man off but couldn't because the man sat there on the train line foolishly. Aki didn't help. So Noah gave up and went to call the stationmaster but nobody was there.
Aki was feeling anger in his veins. His eyes turned red as if he was about to cry in anger. That man still keeps sitting there on the rail track. A train was approaching. So the man hurried but his foot got stuck just like Aki's mother's had in the past. He didn't help that man, just like that man didn't help his mom. The man was run over by the train and Aki stood there motionlessly. Noah came running. Noah was utterly shocked at the man's death. He saw Aki was doing a ritsurei (formal bow) and when done Aki started walking. Aki saw a person standing far away at the opposite platform. But Aki didn't stop. Noah was left speechless when he saw Aki do that.
After a few days, Noah learned the reason why Aki did that.
'Don't worry. It's just a nightmare…' Aki said to Noah. Meanwhile, a tall person in a hoodie passes by closely with a cycle. The cycle almost touched Noah but Aki had pulled him to the side instantly so that Noah didn't block the man.
'Sorry!' said that person but didn't wait and went on.
'No manners!' Noah was irritated.
'You should change the habit of going in the middle of the road when you are talking.' Aki pointed out the fault.
'What! You are taking his side now! That person whom you don't even know!!' Noah got angry.
'Shut up!' Aki was done with Noah's childish habit.
'Nobody loves me, Ginger. I miss you.' Noah brings out the phone with Ginger's photo as wallpaper.
Aki was so surprised that he forgot to hide his emotion. Ginger posing with a white flower on the side of his head.
'For God's sake!! He is a boy!! Why did you make my cat pathetically pose!?' Aki became dumbfounded.
'Oh! You are here! Go have counseling...I have so much work to do.. bye-bye.' Noah ran away.
'What! Wait…' Aki couldn't understand. Noah left him under the office building of his father, SA Tower.
He remembers coming here with his mom when he was little. It was not so grand but it was everything to them. Aito was ambitious but the family was always Aito's first priority. But everything changed when Sakura died. His father worked so hard night and day. Some part of his father maybe wanted to forget Sakura was not with him by working. He tried to understand his father's struggles, sorrow but was that really possible? Aki never thinks he can.
The receptionist saw Aki and came running. Aki doesn't come here in this building much. So he was welcomed by many of the employees which made him uncomfortable. They talked so much that he was turning red. A man in his late 50s came to him smiling. He is Aito's personal secretary Ishida Daichi, Noah's father
'What are you all doing?' he asked the staff.
Aki was relieved to see him,'-Ishida-san!'
'Don't surround him like that. Can't you see he is uncomfortable?' Ishida made a space.
'It's alright. It's not like that…' Aki tried to hide his uneasiness.
Ishida smiles while saying, 'Your ears are red and you say…'
Aki stopped Ishida, 'Where is dad?'
Aito is in the meeting so Ishida told him that. Aki rarely comes here so Ishida thought Aki had something to say to him.
'Should I call him?' Ishida Tries to call him.
'No, no, no! He will postpone his meeting if you do. I will wait.' Aki became concerned as Aito would leave everything if Aito found out Aki was here.
Ishida understood Aki's worries and smiled, 'Ok. Then let's go.'
While getting on the elevator, Ishida remembers something regarding work and tells Aki to get on alone. Aki nods then wait for the elevator.
The black hooded guy from before came and stood beside him. He was so tall that 5'11 Aki felt too short. Then he thought of Joshua. He was also around the same height as Joshua. When they entered the lift, the hooded guy went into the back and stood behind Aki. While the door was closing Aki saw a woman was coming running to get on the elevator so Aki didn't let the door close. Meanwhile, a crowd flooded inside the elevator pushing Aki at the side of the end with the hooded guy. Aki was totally struggling to stand on his feet.
'You can lean on.' the guy asked Aki in order to help
'It's oK!' but Aki tripped and his back fell on the stranger's body
'Sorry!' Aki was so embarrassed that his ears turned red. This has never happened and it feels awkward.
'I told you it is ok.' The guy took off his hoodie cap.
The guy in the hoodie was Reiji.
Reiji was looking closely the whole time. Aki felt uncomfortable and touched his nape. Reiji felt a familiar scent. He was baffled. He could not comprehend how there was this familiar scent on Aki. He leaned his head close to Aki's nape. Reiji's breath brushed against his nape. Aki's body stiffened. Reiji was confused for some reason. The elevator stopped and the crowd got off. Aki and Reiji were the ones left. Aki had already moved quickly to the side away from Reiji.
'I'm sorry. The crowd…' words stayed unfinished as he looked at Reiji's face. Reiji smiles. Aki's face turned pale.
The face of Mei. He was also not that schoolboy who was only 12. It's a man who was an adult. What crossed instantly after the shock in Aki's mind was that, why is Aki encountering this type of incident?
'Why is this happening to me! Did Mei really come back?! No, that's impossible. He is not Mei!', Aki got off as soon as the door opened and looked at Reiji while the door was closing.
Reiji saw that something was wrong with Aki. So he opened the elevator door again after it had closed. He saw Aki was going to the roof.
Aki couldn't breathe. He was struggling to breathe as he arrived on the roof whole kneeling on the ground.
For a while, Reiji observed how Aki was not able to calm down. Reiji felt irritated and came close standing at the back. Reiji knelt down behind and closed Aki's eyes with his hand. Aki was startled.
'Breathe through your nose and mouth.' As Reiji advised, without listening to it Aki tried to move out
'Stop struggling and focus on breathing only,' Reiji was right about him.
He was confused why Aki was having a panic attack. Reiji had seen him before at the station. Then he remembers he was disguised as Joshua so Aki had not met Reiji yet. He feels Aki has calmed down a bit. A scent touched his concentration towards Aki. Faint but similar. Aki felt alright so he asked to let go. Aki sat a few feet away. Looked him in the eye.
Now Aki is ok so he thanked Reiji, 'Thank you.'
'You should avoid crowds if you have enochlophobia.' Reiji advised Aki.
'Thanks but I don't have that phobia. I was just…' Aki paused, looking at Reiji's eyes.
'Just?' Reiji wanted to know the actual reason but Aki went silent.
Aki kept looking at him. Sharp eyebrows, beautiful eyes, gentle smile
"Mei…" Aki thought to himself.
'Are you ok?'Reiji frowned, seeing him silent.
'I am.' He looked down.
Then looked to his right side. kind heart just like Mei. How can he forget! He felt some familiarity with Reiji. Even though he has met him just now.
"Unbelievable!" Aki disheartened smiles while thinking.
Reiji watches him for a while. Then gets up and offers his hand to him to hold on. Aki holds his hand and gets up. Reiji brushes dirt from Aki's clothes.
'Thanks...again.' Aki says.
'It's alright...again…' Reiji said. Both of them smiled.
'Well! Have a nice day...' Aki said.
'Reiji..you can call me Reiji.' He told Aki his name.
Aki smiles.'It was nice to know you Reiji-san.'
'Same here. See ya!' Reiji went down.
Aki hasn't gone down yet. He closed his eyes, standing there, and felt the breeze. He heard footsteps and saw Reiji coming again. He frowned.
'Um... May I have your contact info?' Reiji's request surprised Aki so much.
'What?' He asked Reiji in confusion.
Never would have thought someone whom he just met would ask for his number. But Aki should have given the business card to him before. After all, Reiji had helped him greatly.
'I'm sorry I should have…'Aki gives him his business card.
Then Reiji smiles and gives his business card as well to Aki. Aki took it then bade goodbye again.
Reiji was smiling while getting down the stairs. Then Aki keeps the card in the pocket. Aki was processing what was all that about.